AIBU to tell the landlord we won’t spy for him?

[Skarossinkplunger]

Ok. This may be long and I already earlier posted on Legal just to get some bits right. Here goes...

3 years ago we rented our rather lively house, which is the last house on our estate (cup-de-sac) with just a field next door. The field is also owned by our landlord and his wife. When we first moved in we were aware that they had submitted a planning application for the field and it had been refused. This year they submitted it again and despite numerous objections it has been granted.

The work has been sporadic and up to now not much has been done. However when they do turn up it’s been with heavy machinery at 7in the morning, once was a week day and once was a Saturday.

Last Friday they arrive with a bulldozer worked from 7.11am until 5 and that was the last we saw of them until this morning. However over the weekend they left the bulldozer parked extremely close to our garden fence right under our bedroom window. A friend of ours who is in the police said “they’ve parked that there so if it anyone tries to nick it you’ll hear them”.

Last Friday they blocked our drive for an hour, and left litter lying in the road. My husband has sent the landlord a very polite message asking if they can possibly be a little more considerate in the times they work, park the bulldozer away from the house and not block the drive. Basically the response was “that’s just the way it is mate” however in the same email the landlord has asked us to log the times the contractors arrive and leave because he thinks they’re not working the contracted hours (which they’re not) AIBU to say no?

Oh god the typos! (Why do we not have an edit button?)

Lively - lovely

Cul-de-sac (obvs)

I think you’d BU to say yes. Nowt to do with you whether his contractors are doing their job.

I'd email back "you're right, they're not working contracted hours" and leave it at that. If the LL asks you to note down the hours say no. FWIW any loud working before 8am and after 6pm and you should call the council noise abatement team if it's really bothering you. They'll do a site check and remind/enforce correct working times.

Not being unreasonable. They have refused to be considerate to you so it's very rude to expect a favour in return.

Yeah, say no. Although 7-5 and parking the bulldozer in the securest place is fine. Blocking the drive is not.

I'd not expect one of my tenants to do this for me.

I would say to your LL if you want me to log the time the contractors come, you need to tell them to be considerate, and not block driveways, not leave litter around. If this does not happen, we will not be logging times sorry.

I think you should insist he doesn't block your drive and I wouldn't be logging times for him.

Think I'd reply 'sorry no can do, contractors eh? that's just the way it is mate'

Tell the builders.
Here mate, 1,park sensibly, 2,start later and we will all be happy. Work when you want /how long you want. Don't give a fuck if you adhere to 1+2 ll won't hear owt from us!!

Thanks people. I also won’t be leaping out of bed if I hear someone trying to steal the bulldozer!

So he won't help you, but is asking for you to 'supervise' his contractors! I guess you could always suggest a rate for supervision?

If they block your driveway, report them. It's an offence (if you have a dropped kerb).

So he’s trying to make you responsible for the hours the contractors work and the security of their equipment? What a peach...

He is a massive CF, like Travis reply.

You have no obligation to help if the bulldozer gets stolen or disturbed, but if it's on his land they can park it there if they like. It's the parking on the drive that's wrong and you might need to get proactive on that part of it.

Working hours may well be specified in the planning permission, in the "Decision notice" document. Ours state that no construction/demolition or plant to be operated before 8am.

Whether the planning office will do anything about it though...

So the response was basically "Ha! Why should I help you?! But will you help me?"

Yeah I wouldn't be doing him any favors!

DH and I just had a chat about it. I work in a school (off today for hospital appointment) this is my first term-time only job and as we can’t afford to go away I was planning on potteringnin the garden for the summer holidays but this will make it unbearable. We’ve decided to cut our losses and even though we love the house we’re going to move. Not sure how easy it will be for them to rent it out again with this going on.

We now have 2 diggers and a bulldozer parked along our fence. I realise they’re entitled to leave them there, but there’s a whole field to park them in.